The elastic modulus for a lower level of concentration, not considered in this study, was also predicted using statistical analysis. CONCLUSIONS Closed matching of the mechanical properties of the gels revealed that the bulk tension and compression tests could be confidently used for assessing mechanical properties of delicate biological hydrogels.BACKGROUND Bioengineering products can help bone tissue regeneration. OBJECTIVE There is an ongoing research for more effective biomaterials in bone regeneration. Chitosan (Ch) grafted stearic acid (Ch-g-Sa) polymer was synthesized and its usability as a putty was evaluated in this study. METHODS The chemical structure of Ch-g-Sa polymer was investigated using Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H-NMR) and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR). Thermal properties of Ch-g-Sa polymer were determined by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Putties containing nano-hydroxyapatite were prepared and in-vitro degradation properties and viscosity of the putties were determined. RESULTS The cytotoxicity, oxidation effect and osteogenic potential of the putties were investigated on MC3T3 cells while the inflammatory effect of the putties was studied on THP-1 cells. For the determination of the osteogenic effect of the putties, ALP and RUNX2 gene expression of MC3T3 cells were studied. CONCLUSION Ch-g-Sa/HA putties are promising biomaterials for bone tissue regeneration.BACKGROUD Hydrocephalus is the most common anomaly of the fetal head characterized by an excessive accumulation of fluid in the brain processing. The diagnostic process of fetal heads using traditional evaluation techniques are generally time consuming and error prone. Usually, fetal head size is computed using an ultrasound (US) image around 20-22 weeks, which is the gestational age (GA). Biometrical measurements are extracted and compared with ground truth charts to identify normal or abnormal growth. METHODS In this paper, an attempt has been made to enhance the Hydrocephalus characterization process by extracting other geometrical and textural features to design an efficient recognition system. The superiority of this work consists of the reduced time processing and the complexity of standard automatic approaches for routine examination. This proposed method requires practical insidiousness of the precocious discovery of fetuses' malformation to alert the experts about the existence of abnormal outcome. The first task is devoted to a proposed pre-processing model using a standard filtering and a segmentation scheme using a modified Hough transform (MHT) to detect the region of interest. Indeed, the obtained clinical parameters are presented to the principal component analysis (PCA) model in order to obtain a reduced number of measures which are employed in the classification stage. RESULTS Thanks to the combination of geometrical and statistical features, the classification process provided an important ability and an interesting performance achieving more than 96% of accuracy to detect pathological subjects in premature ages. CONCLUSIONS The experimental results illustrate the success and the accuracy of the proposed classification method for a factual diagnostic of fetal head malformation.BACKGROUND Reduced coordination of precise small movements of the hand, wrist and fingers in Parkinson's disease (PD) has been mostly solved by medications and deep brain stimulation. The effects have been evaluated by clinical tests only. OBJECTIVE Virtual reality based exergaming may enhance fine movements, decrease the medications dosage and provide an additional non-subjective evaluation. METHODS 3D pick-and-place task (10Cubes) has been developed in a virtual world. The person placed the virtual cubes by the virtual hand, an avatar of the real hand tracked by a Leap Motion Controller (LMC). The system computed the time of manipulating the cube, the total time, the average time, the speed, and the distance. It counted and managed the number of cubes touched, and calculated the hand shake level, i.e. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/BIX-02189.html the average tremor index. A pilot test was carried out in a healthy neurologically intact person and a patient with PD using a 3D head-mounted device (HMD) or LCD screen. RESULTS The results indicate that substantial and also statistically significant (p less then 0.05) differences exist between both participants in all objective parameters; the most noteworthy can be the average tremor index. However, we found the parameters only marginally different with 2D equipment. CONCLUSIONS The evaluation system of 10Cubes has proved applicable at an unchanged medication plan, but its clinical effectiveness could be confirmed with a randomized study.BACKGROUND In low vision patients, the assessment of contrast sensitivity is an essential tool to determine the stage of visual impairment. However, traditional contrast sensitivity tests rely on verbal feedback, and the expertise of the examiner. OBJECTIVE In the current study, a fast, OKN-based virtual diagnosis tool was developed estimating contrast sensitivity automatically without active cooperation of the patient as well as the practitioner within 3.5 minutes. METHODS In a HTC Vive headset with an SMI-eye tracker, a virtual rotating drum was implemented, and an algorithm was developed, evaluating the occurrence of an OKN. The tool was evaluated in healthy subjects as well as under low vision simulation for two spatial frequencies and four contrasts. It was then compared to two contrast sensitivity estimates based on manual report on the orientation of static gratings as well as the movement direction of translating gratings. RESULTS An algorithm was developed, which matched ground truth ratings of occurrence of OKN with an accuracy of 88 %. Furthermore, known differences in contrast sensitivity between healthy and low vision conditions as well as a decrease in contrast sensitivity for lower spatial frequencies was successfully reproduced in the developed tool. CONCLUSIONS The developed OKN-based sensitivity test represents a reliable proof of concept for technology readiness of virtual reality-based screening tools of visual function in practice, specifically in patients with difficulties to report perception verbally, or under conditions, where no experienced examiner is present.